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Type: Medium Private VC

As an experienced entrepreneur I try to meet people from the industry to get some feedback on new directions my company is exploring. I asked to meet Merav Weinryb a principal at Pitango. She was told it is not a "deal flow" meeting but still agreed to meet on a short notice. We spent an hour going over the possible directions I should examine and she was quite helpful and knowledgeable.

Like the title says, Pitango really is the Titanic of Israeli VC's with all the pros and cons that come with that title.
On the upside they are filled with very smart and knowledgeable people, they have a lot of experience and funds to back it up.
However they can get quite cumbersome and they may require many, many meetings in order to make up their mind.
More then that for a VC in that size only potentially startup companies that have a HUGE income potential get pushed forward in order to justify a large investment.

I must state at this point that we got treated with a lot of respect and they were fair and reasonable all the way through.
All and all a very good fund just a little slow and cumbersome.

Posted by
E4Internet
on 2007-11-27

PUBLIC:

We met with Nissim to present a new medical device.
He was very kind and showed genuine interest (or so we thought)
After three weeks we received an answer that they are in transit to a new fund and do not have the necessary resources. Two bad we were not informed before the meetings.

Posted by
Anonymous
on 2007-09-08

PUBLIC:

I've had a disappointing experience with this fund who, probably because of the popularity of Chemi Peres, is highly considered.
No response, despite numerous attempts to reach out to the Managing General Partner which I knew personally.

Posted by
Anonymous
on 2007-09-07

PUBLIC:

Pitango has been steadily on the decline. The fund that was considered to be one of pillars of the VC industry in Israel has lost its stature to the Silicon valley brand names that have appeared in the Israeli VC scene. However, the partners there refused to accept the fact that they don't enjoy any monopoly on the best dealflow and talent and still act in a very arrogant and unprofessional manner. Most partners there lack any operating experience that is necessary to help build successful companies (although they would tell you otherwise). In practice, the fund is really managed by Chemi Peres who is very smart and influential person in Israel and abroad. Chemi is a very hard worker but lacks any bandwidth and is very arrogant in his style and the way he deals with people so it would be difficult working with him. Aaron Mankovski is basically a hot headed simpleton who is convinced that he has the patent on the right formula on how to build successful companies. He is a very terrible listener and very difficult to deal with and having him on your board would be a recipe for disaster. Rami Kalish is very sharp, intuitive person but typically unfocused and unreliable to entrepreneurs. Isaac Hillel is the only senior partner there with real operating experience background. He is very sharp and capable but tends to be very hasty and slow in his decision making. Overall, the fund is very difficult to deal with, their decision process is very slow and don't expect to hear back from them with any answer. They would only respond if there is competitive pressures and could be surprisingly aggressive at times. Overall, the value add is very limited and it is very rare to see any entrepreneur that chooses to go back to working with Pitango.

Rami Beracha comes across as a unique partner in the VC scene, but don't be fooled - you will hear the same "we are not like the others", stories about "added value" and endless promises. He was nice to deal with until it became practical and then it was evident it's the same-old-story.

Posted by
chompyZ
on 2007-03-24

PUBLIC:

this VC is too large for the Israeli market and therefore finds it hard to find enough deals. As a result, it tends to invest in more companies, lower quality deals that other VCs avoid, but at better terms, but don't expect any following assistance or anything.